Tennis Champions Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Li Na to Play in a WTA Premier Event in China

Maria Sharapova of Russia kisses the trophy as she poses during the ceremony after defeating Simona Halep of Romania during their women's singles final match to win the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 7, 2014.
REUTERS

The tennis event called Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open will run for one week from Sept. 21 to Sept. 27. It will be held at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Wuhan, which is known as the most heavily populated city in the Asian sovereign state. The tennis arena measures 103,400 square meters. It has a grand stadium that can accommodate 15,000 people, a supplementary building for 5,000 people, and six standard outdoor hard courts.

Wuhan is reportedly the hometown of second-ranked athlete Li and she is elated that she will be able to play in her home turf. Li said in WTA press release that she was very proud that a tennis tournament will be held in the city where she was raised. She added that she was very excited to become a part of a strong line-up of players and just couldn't wait to showcase her footwork, hit volleys, and serve strokes.

According to Sports Illustrated tennis correspondent Courtney Nguyen, the Wuhan Open will take the place and succeed the Tokyo Open as the only Premier 5 tournament in Asia. The Wuhan Open will be one of the biggest WTA tournaments in Asia, in addition to the China Open.

The tournament's prize money is $2,440,070 and 900 points for the champion. It will be held annually during the month of September from 2014 until 2028.